TMNT: Turtle Tot Drabbles
by Sesshomarusama3
Summary: Some drabbles about the turtles from babies to young teens (before 14 though). I hope you like it! (WARNING: CONTAINS FLUFF) I OWN NOTHING.
1. Chapter 1: A New Begining

**A/N: What's up everybody?! New TMNT stuff, some Turtle Tots for you! These will be short drabbles, focusing on the turtles from ages 0 all the way to 13, in no particular order. I OWN NOTHING!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**This one takes place about a day and a bit after the mutation of Splinter and the turtles! I wrote this on Tumblr first.**

* * *

His eyes slowly opened, and he was greeted by the unpleasent smells and sights of the sewer walls, grafitied and covered in disgusting substances that made his skin crawl at the thought of it...

Or, to be acurate, it made his _fur_ crawl.

It had been less than twenty-four hours ago that everything had changed; his body, and now his life as he knew it. He had already lost so much in the space of a year; his home, his wife and baby daughter, and now, he had lost his humanity.

Hamato Yoshi sighed heavily, sitting up from the cold, stone sewer floor and running a clawed hand over his furry muzzle. What was he going to do now? His life as a human being was over. What was left for him to hold onto?

A small yawn and the sounds of shuffling beside him snapped him out of his tangled thoughts as he looked down.

Oh. He had forgotten about them. How foolish of him.

The four baby turtles that he had bought in the pet store, and the ones that had mutated along with him, were now all waking up, squirming and yawning as they stumbled over one another to get up and explore the tunnels that Yoshi had decided to stay for the time being. It was truly strange, however; these four little creatures were not even human, yet they clearly displayed the typical behaviours of human infants, crying, crawling, giggling, playing...

They reminded him of Miwa, should she have lived to this day.

He turned away from the playing infant turtles, looking back down at his clawed hands as he lay them on his furry lap. He was still at such a loss. What was he to do? He could not return to his home on the surface world, not whilst he looked like this. He could not find it in his heart to abandon these four defensless infants, but how were they to survive in the sewers?

Yoshi had never felt so confused or lost.

He suddenly felt something crawl onto his lap, and he looked down to find that one of the turtles had decided to approach him and climb onto the giant rat. The young one's ocean blue eyes stared up at him for the longest time, and Yoshi stared back. He then put his forest green hand upon the rat's furry chest, where his heart was, and he looked back up.

He patted his chest once. "...Da..."

Yoshi's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

The little turtle patted his chest again. "...Da...Dada!"

Yoshi's heart seemed to stop for a moment as he gazed down at the child. Did his ears decive him? Had this little one just...

"Dada!" came another tiny voice, coming from the smallest freckled turtle, mimicking his brother as he raised his little arms in the air and beamed.

The lean, olive coloured one with the gap in his teeth and his thumb in his mouth looked down at the freckled one with wide red eyes, then back up to Yoshi. "Dada!" he giggled, crawling over to sit with the blue eyed one on his lap, snuggling into his fur as he grinned up at him.

They all turned to the last turtle, the one with the piercing emerald eyes, as he sat the farthest away from them, staring at them with a little pout as he crossed his arms across his chest, feeling a little left out.

Yoshi smiled warmly at the stubborn turtle, despte the tears of joy starting in his eyes. "Come here, little one," he said softly, extending his free hand out to him.

After a moment, the green eyed turtle finally decided to crawl over to the others, settling next to his freckled brother as he looked up at the rat.

"...Dada?"

Yoshi smiled again, holding all four turtles close to his heart as they snuggled into his warm, soft fur. Thanks to them, he now knew what he had to do. It was true, he was no longer a human, and he had lost many things, but in the process, he had gained so much more, something so precious, so irreplacable that it would destroy him if he were to lose them. And they were sitting in his lap, looking up at him with their wide eyes, awaiting his reply.

"Yes," he whispered to them, "I am your father."

Hamato Yoshi was gone. But now, there was a new begining waiting for him, for all of them. He could take on a new name, with a new life, with a new family.

Now, he was Splinter, a father of four, beautiful baby boys. 


	2. Chapter 2: A Lesson Learned

**A/N: Two chapters in one day?! Wow! This one takes place where the boys are four or five years old, and I kinda wanted to focus on Mikey and Raph a little bit for this one!**

* * *

Raising one child, Splinter mused, was hard enough, even with Tang Shen by his side. There were nights when young Miwa would wake in the late hours of the night and scream constantly, or nights when she would climb on top of him whilst he tried to sleep. More often than not, it was Tang Shen who was able to calm her down in the end, to which Hamato was oh so grateful for.

Now however, Tang Shen was no longer with him...and he had_ three_ times as many children to keep watch over, and they were not even fully human. There was four times the noise, four times the mess, four times the little fights he had to break up, all by himself.

Indeed, his life was no longer as simple, but he was by no means unhappy. No, in fact, it seemed that these four turtles, these four, five-year-olds that he had raised on his owm, had shone a new light into his once dark and empty life. He was thankful for that, at least.

However, it didn't mean they didn't give him severe headaches with their constant noise and bickering.

Out of the four brothers, Leonardo, his eldest son, and Donatello, his second youngest/third eldest son, were the easiest to handle. Of course, they had their moments, like whenever Donatello found something that interested him, he would wander off before Splinter found him again, and Leonardio could annoy his youngers with his commanding 'leader-like' behaviour that he had mimicked from that new telivision Captain Ryan, but other than that, the two were very well behaved young boys, hardly disobeying him, never late for their ninja training, and for Leonardo, oten the peace-keeper between the others.

Raphael and Michelangelo, however, were a _completley_ different story...

* * *

"C'mon, Mikey!"

"Hold on, Raphie! I'm not as fast as you, I can't keep up!"

"Well, try harder!"

Raphael, the second eldest and shortest tempered of the brothers was leading Michelangelo, the youngest and most hyperactive, down the darkened sewer tunnels, searching for whatever 'adventure' they could find to amuse themselves with whilst Splinter was meditating, and Leonardo was watching that boring Space Heroes show, and Donatello was busy fixing their toy plane. It wasn't their fault they were bored; there was nothing fun to do at home, so why not go out and explore?

Since Mikey was still afraid of the dark, Raph held his younger brothers' hand as they trekked through the tunnles, deeper and deeper into darker, unfamiliar territory, which despite being the youngest and the one with the shortest attention span, Mikey noticed quickly.

"Raphie, we're not supposed to be here!" Mikey said, tugging on Raph's arm, "Daddy says that we can't go this far without him!"

Raph tugged his arm back with a growl. "So what? We're gunna be ninjas! Pretty soon, we won't need daddy to tell us what to do!" he argued, taking Mikey's hand again and leading the way. "And besides, we'll be back before anyone knows we were even gone!"

Mikey didn't argue this time, because he did have a point; they were going to be awesome, strong ninjas some day. They wouldn't need Splinter soon, so they could wander for as long and as far as they wanted!

Soon, the two young turtles found themselves at a dead end. Part of the subway had collapsed years ago, and had left nothing but a wall of broken concrete, metal bars and other sorts of trash. To others, it would have looked like a mess, but to the eyes of the two young turtles, it was one of the coolest things they had ever seen!

"Whooooooaaaa!" they breathed. "Let's get closer!" Raph urged, tugging Mikey along with him.

However, Mikey heard a creak and a groan benath his feet. THe ground looked loose, like it was about to crack under them, and he didn't like it. "Raphie! We'd better go!" he cried, "Raphie, I'm scared!"

Raph only waved him off. "Stoppit, Mikey! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Suddenly, the floor collapsed underneath him, and he fell with a scream.

"_RAPHIE_!" Mikey shrieked, scrambling over to where his older brother had fallen, and peered down fearfully in the darkness. His wide blue eyes scanned the hole frantically, but he found no trace of his brother. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he began to panic. "Raph? Raphie, can you hear me?!" he called.

"...M-Mikey!" cried a terrified little voice, "Mikey! G-Get daddy! Hurry! P-Please!"

"But Raphie, I don't wanna leave you!"

"Mikey, go! P-Please!" Raph shouted back. He sounded so afraid, as if he were crying.

Raph needed his help! He had to go now!

"O-okay, Raphie! I-I'll be right back, I promise!" and without a second thought, Mikey ran as fast as his little legs would carry him, back the way they had come, not stopping once, even though his little lungs burned and his feet ached, he didn't stop until he saw the familiar lights of the lair.

"Sensei! Daddy!" he cried, "Daddy! Help! Raphie's in trouble!"

Instantly, Splinter, Leo and Donnie were at the entrance of the lair, and their father knelt down before his youngest, sobbing child as he tried to calm him down. "Michelangelo, hush now, my son," he soothed, "Where is Raphael?"

Mikey sniffed, "W-w-we were e-explorin' through the tunnles, a-and R-Raphie fell! Y-you gotta help daddy!"

Splinter shot to his feet and turned to his remaining two sons, "Leonardo, Donatello, you stay until I return!"

The other two nodded, and Splinter scooped up Michelangelo in his arms as he raced down the tunnels according to his sons' directions. Soon enough, he found the hole in which his son was trapped inside of, and he set Michelangelo down as he stepped over to it. "Raphael! Can you hear me, my son?!" he called down, his own heart thumping against his chest in fear.

"D-Daddy! H-Help me! T-They're gonna get me!" Raph screamed from below.

The sound of his son crying out to him broke the old rats' heart, but he wasted no time in jumping into the dark hole, and using his rat senses and vision to seek out his terrified little boy. The first thing he noticed upon his contact with the ground was that it was moving. And after his eyes adjusted in the darkness, he knew what had terrified his son so much.

Cockroaches.

_Everywhere_.

He let out a small shuder as the creatures scattered back into the darkness as he landed, and in one swift movement, he picked up his sniffling son, who latched onto him instantly, and leaped back out of the hole, and landed next to Michelangelo, who ran towards them and hugged them both as he sobbed. "Oh, Rsphie! You're alive!" he cried.

Raph was soon to folow as thick, hot tears streamed down his face as he held onto his father, not daring to let go for even a second. Splinter held both his sons close to him as he hushed them soothinlgy. "There there, my sons, hush now, It is alright, I am here now."

"D-daddy, we're so sorry!" Raph blubbered, "I-It was my idea! Mikey didn't wanna b-but - THEY WERE GONNA _EAT_ ME, SENSEI!"

"Nothing is going to eat you as long as I am here, Raphael," Splinter said, cupping his child's face with his hands and looking him in the eyes, "but don't you ever go out like that again without my permission, understand?"

Both boys nodded, and he carried them both in his arms the rest of the way home. He punished them for their actions, of course, but not too harshly; they were scared beyond belief, and they only meant well. Besides, as a father, he couldn't find it in his heart to punish them too hard.

They never did venture out of the lair alone again after their grounding, much to Splinters' relief...

...but from that day forth, he would always hear a high pitched scream should a certain insect crawl into their home. 


	3. Chapter 3: Scars

**A/N: Hello again! This one takes place when the turtles are seven. I wanted to explore how the heck Raph got that crack in his plastron. People have done so many different versions already, but I wanted to try it out myself! I hope you like it!**

* * *

Watching his four sons grow, train and play together always deeply warmed the heart of the old rat. He just knew that someday, with him guiding them every step of the way, these four boys will grow into the strong ninjas he hoped and dreamed they would become.

Just as soon as he was able to settle the constant back and forth bickering from Raphael and Leonardo.

It was true, his eldest and second eldest sons, for some reason or another, were always at each other's throats, even over the simplest of things, being it over who set the table for meals, who's turn it was to watch their newly built telivision, or the most common out of them all, who was the better ninja.

He mused that it was only due to Raphael's hotheaded nature that he was being so aggressive towards Leonardo, but then again, his eldest son alays seemed to want to be in control over his younger three brothers, trying to be what he deemed to be a good leader over his so-called 'crew'. That 'Space Heroes' show that he insisted upon watching was starting to grow on him greatley.

Even now, as he sat under the tree in the dojo that afternoon, he could hear his seven-year-old sons arguing in the living room. Soon, there would be yelling, then kicks and punches would be thrown, followed by tears.

Splinter sighed, rubbing his temples as he stood up, making his way to break up the fight before anything else got broken that wasn't the furniture. Sometimes, Splinter worried that one day, these petty arguments would take a different turn as they grew older, turning from mere child's play to brutal force.

He feard nothing more than the thought of his sons repeating what had transpired between him and Oroku Saki years ago.

But one thing was certain, someone, one way or another, was going to get hurt.

* * *

Raph pouted sourly as he stared straight ahead of him with a glare in his emerald eyes, not looking back as he strode angrily down the sewer tunnel that would take them to their garbage disposal place. Honestly, why was Sensei so mean sometimes?! He was a big boy now, he was able to take out the garbage himself, so why did he have to go with stinky Leo?! It wasn't fair!

Leo too was not all that pleased to be with Raph right now, not after their latest fight that afternoon. Though, he understood why Master Splinter had wanted them to go together; he wanted them to make up, one way or another, and also to make sure Raph didn't get himself into trouble before he could get back to the lair.

Leo stole a side glance at Raph as they walked side by side on their way back to the lair after dropping off the trash. They had not said a single word to each other since they left, and Leo had just about enough of it.

With a sigh, Leo put out his hand and stopped Raph by taking him by the shoulder. Raph snapped his angry eyes towards him with a scowl, making Leo only roll his eyes. "Listen Raph," he began patiently, remebering what Splinter had told him (and also what he learned from Captain Ryan) "about what happened earlier. I think it's best if we shake hands on it and move on. After all -"

Leo's tactic proved to fail as Raph let out a snarl and pushed Leo off him, causing him to stumble and fall against a large wooden support beam that leaned long forgotten against the tunnel wall. "Shut up, Leo," he scowled, "you're just gonna say it was all my faut again, like you do all the time! Captain Ryan isn't real, y'know! So you don't have to act like him all the time!"

Leo's patience was wearing very thin as he frowned deeply, jumping to his feet as he shoved Raph back. "_You_ shut up! I was only trying to help, Raph! I wasn't even gonna blame you, you dummy!" he snapped angrily.

Raph snarled, shoving Leo into the beam again. "Don't call me a dummy, Leo! _You're_ the dummy! I _hate_ you, Leo!"

Leo then took Raph by the arm and swung him around, shoving him hard against the beam as he ground his teeth together, not noticing how the beam rattled, sliding slightly against the ground as it began to tilt forwards. "No, _you're_ the dummy for not listening to me! And I hate you too!" Leo barked, spinning on his heel and turning away from Raph, crossing his arms as he stuck hin nose in the air with a stubborn "Hmph!".

Before Raph could retaliate, he heard a groaning behind him, He slwly turned his head, and his green eyes went large, and his mouth fell open with a gasp as the large, heavy wooden beam began to fall, taking other splintered planks of wood and sharp broken metal parts along with it.

It was heading straight for Leo.

"LEO! LOOK OUT!" he cried.

Leo turned, and he gasped, his blue eyes wide in horror as the beam fell.

_I'm gonna die..._

Without warning, Raph's foot planted hard into his chest, sending him sprawling backwards onto the floor as he heard a crash. He shook his head to clear the dizziness, and he looked up to find no sign of Raph. He couched and spluttered as dust floated in the air, and he stood up, frantically looking for his younger brother. "R-Raph?! Raph, where are you?!" he cried.

No one answered his calls. His breathing came out in ragged, panicked huffs as she ran towards the wreckage and started removing the wood and metal pieces, not caring his he was scratched or cut. "Raph?! Raph, please, answer me!"

Minutes passsed, and after what felt like hours of digging, he finally found his brother, lying on his shell. Leo's eyes widened in utter horror as he saw that his face and chest was covered in blood. He wasn't moving, and he couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

Quickly, the young turtle dragged his brother out, laying him on the ground as he shook him. "Raph! It's me, Leo! Wake up! Raph, WAKE UP!"

Raph remained silent and still. Leo removed his hands from his body to find them coated in blood. Never in his life had he ever seen so much blood in his life.

Tears began to pour down his cheeks. How could he have let this happen?! He was supposed to protect Raph, not the other way around! He was his little brother...he loved him so much...

...and only seconds ago, he had told him he hated him.

Leo stared to sob uncontollably as he fell onto his brother, covering his face with hands as he wailed. "R-RAPH! I'M SO SORRY!" he cried, "I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE, SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE!"

"...Leo?"

Leo's eyes snapped open, and he drew back to come face to face with a pair of pained green eyes.

Raph was alive!

"RAPH!" Leo cried, falling back oto his brother as he held him in his arms. But Raph let out a scream of pain, and Leo instantly let him go.

"...L-Leo...my sh-shoulder..." he stuttered, tears of pain rolling down his bloodied cheeks, "I-It...it h-hurts...Leo...m-make it go away...make it...go away..."

Leo nodded, "D-Don't worry, Raphie, I'm g-gonna get help!" leo assured him, and he then got to his feet, cuping his hands around his mouth and he screamed. "HELP! SENSEI! HELP, RAPHIE'S HURT! HELP US DADDY!" Leaving Raph alone was the worst thing he could do, and picking him up wasn't an option either; he was far too hurt and too heavy to carry on his own.

He heard Raph moan next to him in pain, and he bent down and gently put his head to rest on his lap. "It'll be okay, Raphie. It'll be okay," he soothed.

* * *

Splinter heard the crash even from where he stood in the kitchen. His rat ears pricked at the sound, and he raised a brow. Something wasn't right.

Where were Raphael and Leonardo? They should habe been back already.

That crash did not come from Donatello's little 'lab', or from Michelangelo's room.

His heart began to beat rapidly at the thought of something happening to Raphael and Leonardo without him there to protect them. He rushed out of the kitchen. "Michelangelo, Donatello!" he called.

The two turtles came out into the living room, confused at first before they saw the tension in his eyes. "Sensei, what's wrong?" Donnie asked.

"Boys, come with me, we must find your brothers!" Splinter urged, not trusting himself to leave his last two sons on their own as they followed him down the tunnels. His rat nose sniffed, trying to pick up any trace of his sons' scent, but found nothing.

Nothing but the smell of something foul and haunting...

"HELP! SENSEI! HELP, RAPHIE'S HURT! HELP US DADDY!"

Splinters' heart stopped. That was Leonardo, farther down in the tunnel. He sounded afraid. Raphael was hurt?

Raphael was bleeding?

He could waste no more time. He looked down to Mikey and Donnie, both of them looking very scared. "This way, my sons!" he told them before racing down the tunnels, with Donnie and Mikey on his heels. He prayed that they were okay, with every fibre of his being he prayed he would not lose another part of his family.

Finally, he saw them; Leonardo was kneeling on the ground, Raphael's head lay on his lap.

He was covered in blood.

Without hesitation, he ran to their side as Leonardo cried, blubbering about an accident, a beam, and Raphael trying to save him. He was still breathing, thank god, but his shoulder was badly injured; he make have broken it, or worse...

Taking his son in his arms as gently as he could, he lead the way back to the lair as quick as he was able, praying that he had not bled to death before he even had a chance to save him.

* * *

Splinter thanked the stars over and over that night. He had managed to save Raphael before any infection could set in, and he had been able to stitch up his shoulder with Donatello's help.

His son was going to be just fine.

However, the same could not be said about Leonardo. He was a wreck when they returned to the lair, blaming himself over again for what happened to Raphael, calling himself a horrible brother. But Splinter consoled him, telling him that if he were a horrible brother, would Raphael risk his life to save him?

Leonardio grew silent then, thinking upon his fathers' words. He then nodded, telling Splinter that he had something to do, and he ran out of the dojo. Splinter smiled. He knew what his son had in mind. 

* * *

Leo knocked on Raph's bedroom door before entering, finding his injured brother lying on his bed, his left shoulder covered in bandages. Raph sat up in his bed and looked up at Leo.

Leo hesitantly slid through the door and sat on his brothers' bed. He twiddled his thumbs for a moment, struggling to find the right words. "Raph? I'm...I'm realy sorry for what happened," he said softly, looking into his eyes, "I...I didn't mean what I said...I don't hate you, Raphie. You're my little brother, and I love you a lot. I should've protected you, because that's what big brothers are supposed to do...and I failed...and you could've died because of me..."

Raph stared at him the entire time, not daring to say a word, before he lunged at him and pulled him close with his right arm, his only good one right now. Leo's eyes grew wide for a moment, before his arms came around his shoulders as he buried his face into the crook of his neck. He let his tears fall.

"...I didn't mean it either, Leo," Raph said softly, "...I'm sorry...I love you too..."

From outside the door, the eyes of a proud and relived father watched as the two brothers embraced. Maybe now they would learn, that anger and violence leads to nothing but pain, sorrow and scars that would never fade. And as the days went on, they did. There were less physical arguments now than ever before. The worst had seemed to have gone away.

However, when Splinter finally removed the bandages, the chip in his plastron would always remain. 


	4. Chapter 4: Understood

There were times that Donatello really didn't like his brothers.

Like whenever he tried to tell them something interesting that he had discovered in one of the books that their father salvaged from the sewers, they would either not pay attention, call him boring, or call him a nerd, which was usually the case with Raphael, his second older brother. Or whenever he wanted to be alone, Michelangelo or Raphael would always bug him whilst he was trying to read or draw something important; like the human nervous system, or a Electrochemical Cell diagram.

Why couldn't they just understand him the way Mikey understood the concept of comic books, or how Spike understood Raph, or how Leo understood Master Splinter's teachings?

They just didn't understand him. They would _never_ understand him.

All they wanted to do was play or practice. He just wanted to learn and study. He wanted to one day build, invent, create new things that people could only dream about. He was only nine, but someday, he would be able to fix cars, mabye even build his very own robot! The possibilites were endless!

If only his brothers could be as excited as he was. But Raph always teased him, calling him a skinny weakling. Mikey would never understand, and Leo would just go on about how he needs to focus more on his ninja training. Leo was always a teacher's pet.

Donnie sighed, looking at the borken toy plane in his lap. For now, he guessed he just had to stick to fixing broken toys that Sensei brought back from his scavenger runs...

Wait a second...

An idea popped into his head as he shot to his feet and raced towards the dojo, where he knew his father would be meditating at this time. His hunch was right, and he approached his father who was sat underneath the tree in the center of the dojo, and he kneeled quietley in front of him. He fiddled with the wrappings on his fingers for a moment, before speaking up shyly. "Ummm...Sensei?"

Splinter cracked open an eye, then opened both as he looked down at his timid nine-year-old son. "Yes, what is it, Donatello?" he asked him kindly.

Donnie looked up at him with hope in his eyes. "Um...I was wondering...c-could I go to the junk yard with you sometime? I wanna see for myself the things I could get out there, stuff I could fix and build myself! Please?" He asked.

Splinter turned his head to the side for a moment in thought. His third youngest and brightest son had seemed to be getting very anxious and had a tendancy to fiddle with things more often than usual; he needed another outlet, something else to calm his nerves and put his mind at ease, something besides text books or broken toys. His brothers' broken toys were clearly becoming a bothersome pastime for him...

Perhaps it was time that young Donatello a more productive and constructive outlet.

But there was no way on earth that he would allow any of his sons to travel to the scrap yards alone, even though they were old enough to explore the sewers on their own (though he still had his minor issues). Maybe he could take a partner with him, someone who was willing to go, and would not get on each other's nerves...

He had an idea and he smiled down at his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. "...yes, Donatello. You may go."

Donnie's face lit up so bright it would have been blinding.

"But..." Splinter said, holding up a finger, "you must not go alone. You must take Leonardo with you."

Donnie nodded, his smile never fading. "Hai Sensei!" he said. He actually liked hanging out with his older brother; he never really questioned him or rejected his idea, in fact, despite the comment every now and then about his focus, he actually seemed to support him sometimes.

Going to the junkyard with Leo would be a breeze!

* * *

Leo watched his younger brother with a smile on his face as he darted back and forth across the grounds, babbling on and on about every single metallic object he found, from left over microwave parts or even broken cell phones. He shook his head with a laugh as another gleaming object caught his eye, and he rambled on some more.

Though he may not have always understood what Donnie was talking about, he was so very proud that his little brother was moving forwards, becoming enthralled by the wonders of the creations of the humans.

And if his brother was happy, then he was happy.

"Hey, Leo, check this out! It looks like some kind of - _**AAAAAAAAAHHHH**_!"

Donnie's sudden scream of terror in the darkness had Leo instantly running towards the sound, his heart thumping in fear against his chest. What had happened? Was he hurt? Did he fall?

"Donnie?! Donnie! Where are you?!" he cried.

There was no reply, not even a glimpse of his younger purple clad brother.

But he heard other voices. And as he peeked over the edge of a garbage heap, his eyes grew wide in terror.

Humans. Two young humans, probably no older than thirteen, were crowding around the motionless body of Donatello.

"Whoa! Nick, what the hell is that?!" one of them cried.

"I have no idea, Bobby! It came outta nowhere, so I just hit it over the head!" the other exclaimed.

"Is it dead?"

Nick poked him with his leather boot, but Donnie only let out a little groan. "Nah...it's still alive. What do we do with it?"

"Hmmm...well, It could be some kinda alien or somethin'...maybe we could get some big cash for it if we hand it over to the police!"

Nick laughed, "Yeah! Good idea there, Bobby! C'mon, let's get this thing outta here before someone else sees it!"

As Leo watched them snicker and move to pick up his little brother, a rage seemed to build up within him, a rage that no child this young should ever feel.

But it was there, errupting from his chest and released in a frenzied yell as he took out his katanas and leapt from the shadows.

The two stunned humans only had a split second before the older turtle was upon them, jabbing and swiping his katana at them in anger, making sure neither of them even touched his brother.

They were beaten to the ground in moments, both with bleeding noses and sore faces. Nick rose to his knees and growled at the dark shape in front of him. His flashlight had been smashed, so he could no longer see anything but the smaller form of what appeared to be a normal child. "W-Why I oughta -" he snarled, drawing a knife from his pocket, "You smug little kid! I'll kill you!"

But the knife was swiped out of his hand with ease, and a shap object was pressed near his throat. All he saw were a pair of enraged blue eyes that shone in the darkness. Those eyes were young, too young to be thins enraged.

"If you ever come near my brother again," the boy snarled, sounding older, far beyond his years, "I will kill you myself. Understood, Nick?" he spat.

Nick only responded with a high pitched scream as he scooted away, dragging Bobby with him as the two fled from the junkyards, screaming all the way.

Leo watched them run with cold unmoving eyes for a moment, before sheathing his swords and turning back to Donnie, dropping to his knees as he shook him. "Donnie! Donnie, wake up!" he called.

Donnie stirred, groaning in pain as he got to his knees, Leo's hand never leaving his shoulder as he shook his head and met his older brothers' gaze. "L...Leo?" he stammered.

Leo was relived, however, anger quickly took its place as he slapped Donnie across the face.

Donnie held his slapped cheek in shock, before his expression turned sour. "What was _THAT_ for?!" he cried.

Leo took him by both shoulders and shook him. "What were you doing Donnie?! You could have gotten killed! Those two jerks were gonna take you away and hurt you! Why didn't you pay attention?!" he cried.

Donnie's eyes grew wide in realization. Then they filled up with tears that began to drip down his cheeks as he buried his face in his hands and began to cry. "I'm...I'm sorry, Leo! You were right! You guys were always right! I'm just an idiot! I n-never pay attention...you were right Leo...I'll never be a good ninja or a good scientist...I'm so sorry!" he sobbed.

Leo's anger instantly faded when he saw his little brother burst into tears. He hadn't meant to hurt him or make him feel stupid...

He gathered his brother and held him in his arms. "No, Donnie, I'm sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean to make you feel sad...I was just really scarec for you. I thought I was never gonna see you again. And I get why you weren't paying attention; you were so focused on the things you found and what you were gonna make that you didn't see anything else. I get it, Donnie...I really do...and I'm sorry for slapping you. You're gonna be a great ninja scientist! I know it."

Donnie looked up at his older brother, his eyes shining with tears as he sniffed. "R-Really, Leo? Y-You mean it?" he asked him softly.

Leo smiled down at him. "I know it, Donnie."

Donnie smiled, then hugged his brother tighter. Leo returned the hug with equal force. Donnie had been wrong before; he had thought that his family never understood him, thinking that he was just a little nerd, but he was wrong.

He still had one other brother that understood him more than anyone.

His big, strong and fearless brother, Leonardo.

"C'mon, genius. Let's go back home."

"...don't tell Splinter?"

Leo laughed. "Don't tell Splinter."

* * *

**A/N: This one was something I kinda based off of Fantasia's story, but I totally love the relationship between him and Donnie! I hope you like it!**


	5. Chapter 5: Protector

**A/N; Sorry for the long wait! I had other updates!**

**This takes place when the turtles are nine years old. I wanted to focus more on Raph's protective side about Mikey.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Confined within the four walls of his room, the nine-year-old Michelangelo let out a long-suffering sigh as he stared up at his ceiling. There was only one word that could describe the feeling he felt right now.

And that was immense boredom.

Mikey didn't understand why his brothers didn't want to go out and explore the sewers and have fun! What could be cooler than that? Or watching TV? Or playing 'Make Believe'? Why were his big brothers always so boring?

Was it that they just didn't want to play with him?

Nah, that couldn't be it! He was tons of fun to be around!

Creasing his face in determination, he kicked himself off of his bed and made his way to the living room in search for his brothers. They had to be just as bored as he was, so if he asked one of them if they wanted to play, surley they would say yes, right?

Well, first things first, he'd better start with Leo, seeing as he wasn't really doing anything fun besides training. He skipped his way to the dojo, and just as he predicted, he found his oldest brother in there, fluently moving through different katas with one of his katana blades. His young face was creased with deep concentration, but as he spun around and caught sight of Mikey, that concentration turned into mild annoyance as he straightened up, sheathing his large wooden blade with a flick of his wrist.

Showoff.

"What is it, Mikey?" Leo asked, planting a hand on his hip as Mikey leapt eagerly in front of him.

Mikey pressed his fingers together as he looked up at his brother with sparkling baby blue eyes. "Hiya, Leo! I was jus' wonderin'...you wanna go out to the tunnels and play with me?! Huh? Do ya?!" Mikey asked gleefully, bouncing happily on the tips of his toes.

Smiling softly, Leo stopped his bouncing baby brother with a hand on his shoulder. "That sounds great, Mikey...but I have a private training session with Master Splinter in a minute, so I can't. Maybe later, okay?"

Mikey's smile faltered slightly as he looked down. "Oh. Okay then...well, I see ya later then, Leo," Mikey said, turning and jogging out of the dojo. Well, there were still two other brothers he could play with.

Putting a finger to his chin in thought, he decided he would go into Donnie's lab next. He poked his head inside the large door and saw that his brother was at his new desk, his tongue potruding from his mouth as he concentrated intensley on his project. He didn't even look up from his desk.

Mikey stopped at the door. Donnie, despite normally being very shy and never really talking much unless it was something to do with science-y things that he liked, would sometimes get very angry whenever someone interrupted him whilst he was working, sometimes even more so than Raph did almost all the time.

Better do the smart thing and leave him alone for now.

Pouting slighty, Mikey shut the lab doors. Besides, he had a feeling that Donnie wouldn't want to play with him anyways.

There was only one person left to ask. And he was sometimes the most dangerous of them all.

Swallowing, Mikey made his way over to Raph's room, stopping just in front of the door that had a giant, red stop sign that read 'STOP' in big bold white letters. He took in a deep breath, and rose his fist to knock, but before he could, the door swung open, and Raph stepped out, nearling knocking Mikey over as he stopped just in front of him, his green eyes widening in suprise. His suprise turned into a scowl as he folded his arms over his chest. "What do you want, Mikey?" he probed crossly.

Mikey looked down at his feet nervously. "Um...I was jus thinkin'...um...do you wanna...go out an' play with me, Raphie?" he asked timidly, looking back up at his red clad brother.

Raph looked down at his younger brothers' face, and his own expression softened. Despite himself, he let out a sigh, and gave his baby brother a smirk. "Okay, Mikey," he replied with a grin, watching as Mikey's face lit up with a bright freckled smile.

"Well, C'mon then, Raphie!" Mikey cheered, grabbing Raph's wrist as he tugged him along out of the lair and into the tunnels.

Splinter walked out of the dojo with Leonardo at his side, just as the two ran out of the lair. A warm smile tugged at his lips at the sight. 

Leonardo lookep up at his father. "Sensei, do you think it's a good idea to let Raph and Mikey go out there alone?" he asked.

Splinter chuckled, placing a hand on his oldest son's shoulder. "Leonardo, my son, rest assured, they will be fine," he said. Sometimes he could be slightly protective over his younger brothers, and rightly so. But there was no need to worry. They had ventured through the tunnels many times before, and they knew very well where they were not meant to go.

What could go wrong?

* * *

Exploring was always much more fun when you were with somebody else, Mikey always thought that. And he was always right. Especially when it came to Raphael, one of his funnest brothers ever! The two of them played all sorts of games together as they ran around in the tunnels; racing, wrestling, and best of all, pretending they were in a world filled with dragons, elves and dwarfs, and it was Mikey's turn to be the brave young dwarf who slayed the evil Raph dragon!

"RAWR! I'M GONNA EAT UP THAT LITTLE DWARF WHO DARES ENTER MY LANDS!" Raph screeched as he chased after Mikey, his fingers hooked like crooked claws.

Mikey laughed and bounced as he ran away from his 'deadly' older brother, running and balancing across a long sewer pipe that hung over a deep hole, wich creaked underneath his weight, but he took no notice. "You'll never catch me! I'm too fast for a big ugly dragon like you!" Mikey bantered, blowing rasberries.

"Oh yeah?" Raph snickered as he drew closer, "We shall see about that -"

The pipe that Mikey stood upon began to buckle, groaning as it slid against its holding. Mikey and Raph both froze. Mikey trenbled in terror as he met Raph's wide green eyes.

It was only then that they remembered. They weren't supposed to be here. This was a very dangerous part of the sewers; almost everything around them was unstable.

Especaially the pipe.

The two had been so caught up in their game that they hadn't noticed how far they had gone.

The pipe slipped again, and Mikey let out a terrified cry. For a young ninja in training, his balance was suprisingly good, but it would only do him so much good.

"Mikey! Mikey, look at me!" Raph called, his heart beating furiously against his chest as he held out his trembling little hand. "It's okay, Mikey...just look at me, and walk across the pipe, slowly."

Tears poured down his face as Mikey shook his head, "N-No, Raphie! I c-can't do it!" he cried.

"Do you trust me, Mikey?!"

Mikey snapped his head up. "H-huh?"

"Trust me, Mikey! I'm right here! I won't let you fall! I promise! Just walk across the pipe slowly..." Raph held out his hand as far as he could, "It's okay...I'm right here little brother."

Mikey nodded shakily, slowly stepping across the pipe, getting closer and closer to his older brother, not looking down, but straight into his large green eyes.

"That's it, Mikey!" Raph called opening his arms to his younger brother, "You can do it! You're almost there!"

He was almost there. He could do it.

The pipe slid down so fast Mikey had no time to move. Mikey's eyes widened as he began to fall.

"MIKEY, JUMP!" Raph shrieked.

Snappping out of his terror, Mikey moved. With all of his might, Mikey leapt off the pipe and barralled straight into Raph's open arms, sending the two rolling across the floor in a pile of tangled limbs as the pipe fell down into the dark abyss.

Mikey began to sob heavily, his entire body trembling as Raph held him in his arms, his own tears running down his cheeks as he rocked Mikey back and forth gently. "Shh, Mikey, it's okay. I'm h-here...i'll never let you fall," he whispered, holding his brother tighter, "never ever, o-okay?"

Mikey nodded as he continued to sob. "T-thank you, R-R-Raphie," he stammered, clutching onto his brother desperatley, "I-I-I love you, Raph!"

Raph trembled, nearly crushing his baby brother in his arms. "I l-love you too, Mikey." 

* * *

After that day, Mikey and Raph never spoke of that event again. Mikey seemed to recover just fine on his own, but Raph would always remember that moment, that one instant, when he thought he would lose his baby brother forever. All because he had to chase him into that danger zone.

How long until that happened to Donnie, or Leo? And what if he couldn't save them then?

He wouldn't let that happen. He would train as hard as ever, and make sure that he could become strong enough to protect his brothers from anything.

He would never let anyone, or anything, hurt or scare his baby brother ever again. 


	6. Chapter 6: The Once and Future Friend

**A/N: Hello! This is something I had always wanted to do since 'The Good, The Bad and Casey Jones'. I hope you enjoy it!**

**This takes place when the boys are 7 years old. And just for the hell of it, I decided to give you guys a treat at the end.  
**

**I own nothing!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Once and Future Friend**

Raphael stomped out of the dojo, his teeth grinding together and his little fists clenched to his sides as he leapt over the turnstiles of the lair. It had been another normal training session for the four turtle brothers, and all was going smoothly.

Until Leonardo and Raphael were told to face each other. Again.

Whenever the two of them ever sparred, it always ended with an argument, or with one of them being scolded by Master Splinter for being too rough on the other.

Normally, that was Raph.

Why was it always _him_ that always got scolded for everything that went wrong? Why not Leo?

Oh, of course, Leo was the _perfect_ one, the one who always followed what Splinter said, always bossing him, Mikey and Donnie around, like that stupid space captain from that show he always watched.

It wasn't fair! They _always_ blamed him for everything! They always said that it was because he couldn't control his anger. What anger?! He wasn't angry!

Raph let out a little snarl as he kicked at an empty soda can, letting it skid across the floor as he stomped his way through the dark tunnels, his green eyes glaring straight ahead, seeming to glow with rage.

Sometimes, he really, _really _hated his family.

They just didn't get it! They never did, and they never would! Not even Sensei.

It's like they didn't care about him sometimes...

Something suddenly fell and clanked on the floor further down in the tunnels.

Raph froze, his eyes widening as they searched the darkness, but his eyesight was not as good as his rat masters', so he saw nothing. Swallowing, he reached for his new Sais in his belt...

...only to realize that he had thrown them down in anger back at the lair. He muttered a curse under his breath.

Oh perfect. Some ninja _he_ was.

But then again, whatever was down there must have been nothing; just another sewer rat or something.

But he just prayed that it wasn't a cockroach. He still had nightmares of those creepy little things at nights.

He stood there a little longer, straining his ears to listen for any more sounds. He heard nothing else, and allowed himself to relax. With a dissmisive shrug, he turned around and decided to walk back to the lair. Splinter would probably wonder why he wasn't in his stupid room serving his punishment for whatever he did that was wrong.

He stopped in his tracks again as he heard a little sniffle, and a muffled sob. His eyes widened as the sobbing continued.

And it was only then that he caught the smell of something foul, and very strong.

_Blood._

Whoever or _whatever _was down there was hurt and bleeding.

Despite his better judgment, Raph turned around and began to walk down further into the darkness, his steps light and steady, just as his sensei had taught him. As he got closer, the muffled sobbing grew louder, and the smell of blood grew stronger. The stench made him want to retch on the spot, but he had to keep as silent as he could. He had no idea who or what he was going to find; for all he knew, it could be some kind of monster like in the movies they watched when Splinter wasn't around. Like the Boogie Man.

The thought nearly made him turn right around again, until he listened closer to the crying.

That sounded a lot like a child.

There was a _kid_ down here? What kind of stupid kid would come down here in the sewers?!

Maybe he was another mutant like him?

He swallowed nervously, licking his lips as he opened his mouth. "...h-hello?" his little voice called out, "is anyone there? Are you okay?"

The crying suddenly stopped, and so did Raph's heart for a moment as he waited.

"...h-hullo? W-who's that?" stuttered a little voice from behind a small mountain of garbage.

As he finally got closer, Raph could just see the child's form in the darkness; he was quite skinny, and from what he could see, his shirt was covered in dark red liquid. Raph gulped back his fears, and took a step closer to the boy, holding out a hand. "U-um...a-are you alright? I'm not gonna hurt you, I swear..."

The boy looked up at him. And now that they were closer to each other, Raph could clearly see him. He really was a kid...a _human_ kid, with short black hair and large brown eyes. His face was covered in little freckles, and many blood splatters as well. He could also finally see where all the blood was coming from...

It dripped down his chin, and was oozing out from where his three front teeth should have been.

The boy's dark brown eyes gazed up at the young, green, scaly, red masked boy that stood before him in wonder. He quirked a brow as he sniffed slightly, wiping away his tears with his right hand and struggling to stand up as he held his left hand over his bleeding mouth. He easily towered over the strange looking boy when stood up to his full height, but then again, he was tall for a nine year old; taller than most of the kids in his class.

He tilted his head. "...who're you's?" he asked, "you's don't look like the other kids in my school."

Raph squirmed underneath the taller boy's gaze, and was beyond shocked that he was not at all afraid of him. He thought it was just because it was dark in the tunnels, but he could clearly see him. So why wasn't he screaming and running away in terror? Splinter had always told them that humans were afraid of anything that was different from them, including himself and his brothers.

Either this kid was dumb, or just plain weird.

"Um...no, I don't," he replied quietly, looking to the side as he scuffled his three green toes on the ground, before he looked back up at the older kid. "Aren't you afraid?"

The kid tilted his head again. "Huh?"

Raph folded his arms and shrugged. "Y'know, 'cus...i'm different than you...aren't I scary?" he asked.

Raising his brow again, the boy shook his head. "Nah. I don't think you's is scary," he replied, not noticing the smaller boy's look of utter shock as he continued, "Actually, I think you's is kinda cool looking, like...I dunno, a comic book guy, 'cause of that mask you's has got. That's cool, right?"

Raph's mouth hung open as he stared up at him. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. This boy though he was _cool? _

He though a giant, freaky mutant turtle was _cool_?!

Despite himself, a toothy grin found its way across his face. "Hey, thanks," he said.

Maybe not _all _humans were afraid of things like him.

The boy shrugged, "No problem!" he grinned, but then let out a cry of pain as he grasped his swolen mouth, sinking back onto the floor as he squeezed his eyes shut stopping the tears from flowing again.

Raph knelt down at his side, putting a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He was still in shock after what he had told him, and still was unsure if he should really be around him, but he was clearly hurt.

He would have done the same for any of his brothers.

He craned his neck so he could see the boys pained face, "...how'd that happen?" he asked.

The boy sniffed, opening his eyes to look at the strang smaller boy. "...does you's know what hockey is?"

Raph nodded. He knew what hockey was from what he saw on their TV from time to time, though he much preffered to watch that wrestling channel when Sensei wasn't looking.

"...well," the boy continued, "I play hockey at school, with my best buddies. So, we was gonna score a goal for practice, and my cousin, Sid, swung his stick too hard, a-and it hit me in the face...and I lost my teeth...see?" He opened his mouth to reveal the large, bloody gap between his teeth inside his mouth.

Raph let out a small gasp. Even _he _never got this hurt during training.

Hockey was worse than he thought.

"Yeesh! Did he do that on purpose?!" he cried.

The boy shook his head, closing his mouth again. "Nah...but he told me that he shoulda done. When I started cryin', he told me I was bein' a big baby, an' told me that I shouldn't be on the team if I can't take the heat..."

Raph looked at the boy as he lowered his head sadly, bringing his knees close to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Raph sat down next to him, mimicking the boy's posture as he looked up at him with concerned green eyes. "...why did he say that?" he asked, "Isn't your cousin part of your family?"

The kid huffed a sad laugh. "Sid don't care about me...just like my dad..." he said, resting his sore chin on his knees. "My dad says I'm useless, an' I'm not gonna get anywhere if I don't control m'self, and stop gettin' mad...but I don't get mad!" he shouted, kicking at a stray can in front of him, "They just don't get it! It's like they just don't care!"

He looked away, trying to hide his angry tears. "That's why I came down here. So I don't have'ta see them ever again...they ain't gonna miss me anyways..."

Raph looked to the side, biting his lip. After a long silence with the two strange companions sat next to each other, Raph rose his hand and put it gently on the humans' shoulder. "Hey...I'm sure your family cares about you," he said softly, "I mean, all familes do, I guess...my family does."

The boy looked at him in suprise, "You have a family too?"

Raph made a face. "Yeah! Of course I do! I've got a dad, and three brothers...they make me mad sometimes, and they blame me a lot for things...but that's what family does, I guess...they just wanna look out for me and stufff..." he trailed off, playing with the tails of his mask.

The boy watched the strange boy, a thoughtful look on his face as he then looked down at his feet. "...well...I gues my dad kinda cares 'bout me," he said, "I mean...he's probably lookin' for me right now, callin' the police or somethin'..."

Raph smiled and nodded. "Right! And besides, I'm sure your dad gets it! Dads are supposed to get it, right?"

The boy smiled, only a little since his mouth was still sore. "What's your name kid?" he asked.

Raph smiled back. "My name's Raphael."

"Cool. My name's Cas - I-I mean, Arnold Jones."

Raph smiled wider, his green eyes gleaming. "Nice to meet you, Arnold."

Arnold smiled back, his mouth no longer bleeding, "Same here, Raph." He then put a bloodied hand on his shoulder, patting it lightly. "Y'know...if what you's is sayin' is true...then maybe you your pop would get it too, right?"

Raph's expression fell slightly, looking at the floor as he played with his three digits. "...I guess..." he mumbled, "but he likes my other brothers more than me."

Arnold frowned, bumping his shoulder against Raph's. "Nah, I don't think so. I've got a little sister, see, and when she first got here, my mom died, and I didn't think pop would love me anymore. But then pop came one night, n' told me that he'd never love me any less than he does now. Parents are supposed to love their kids equally, amiright?"

Raph looked up to Arnold, pouting in thought. "...really? Even when I'm bein' bad and stuff?"

Arnold nodded. "Yep!"

Feeling a sudden warmth rise in his chest, Raph's smile returnedas he nodded. "Okay...then maybe...we should go back home then, huh?"

Arnold thought for a silent moment. He didn't want to leave his new friend just yet, and would have invited him to come up with him and join him...

But it was obvious that people wouldn't like his new friend the same way he did.

Arnold sighed. "...right. I guess we should," he said as he stood up, with Raph following as he held out his fist for a fist bump, "it was nice seein' ya, Raph."

Raph smiled, bumping his fist against Arnold's. "Yeah, you too. I hope...we see each other again some day."

"Me too, man."

Arnolds' gaze wandered behind Raph for a moment as he caught the shadow of something large in the distance, and his eyes widened as he let out a high pitched scream, staggering backwards as he pointed a quivering finger behind Raph. "_**AAAAH!** _WHAT THE HECK IS _THAT_?!" he shrieked.

Raph spun around, and his green eyes widened in fear as he caught sight of two, large, beady red eyes that glowed in the darkness. It was quite far from them, but as soon as Raph's scream of terror joined Arnold's, the giant creature came closer, moving faster.

"IT'S...A DEMON RAT!" Arnold cried, taking Raph by the hand as he and the shorter mutant turtle ran down the tunnels, screaming all the while. They leapt over giant piles of garbage and puddles and ducked over fallen wooden boards, holding each other's hands as tightly as they could, trying to escape the sewer monster that undoubtedly wanted to eat them.

The creature continued to chase them, its speed unrelenting as it ran after them through the tunnels.

It was only as they reached a station that led to the surface that Raph finally slipped his hand from Arnold's grip. Arnold skidded to a stop. "What're ya doin'?!" he cried, his eyes wide and full of fear, "t-th-the demon rat's gonna -"

"Go Arnold, go! I'll lead him away!" Raph shouted, pushing the boy towards the stairs that lead to the surface world, "please! Go back to your dad! He still need you, right?! GO!"

Arnold looked back one last time at the turtle. His lower lip quivering, he nodded. "Bye buddy..." he whispered with a small wave, and Raph waved back.

With that, Arnold turned on his heel and ran, not looking back as he dissapeard up the stairs and into the open streets.

Raph lingered for a moment longer as he watched Arnold vanish, and he turned to run himself, only to collide with a solid bulk and screamed with all his might.

His screaming stopped when he looked up at the demons face.

"Sensei!" he cried, barreling into his father and wrapping his arms around him as he began to cry into his robes.

Splinter knelt down and held him back with equal strength, stroking the back of his son's head as he allowed him to cry. "Raphael, my son, what do you think you are doing out here?!" he cried.

Raph sniffed, drawing away slightly to look up into his father's face. He really was worried about him. Maybe Arnold was right. "I-I was angry, a-and I met this kid, and then we thought there was a demon rat chasing us a-and - I'm sorry Sensei, I didn't mean to be bad and run away!" he sobbed.

Splinter held his son tighter to his chest. "No, Raphael. I understand," he said soothingly, letting go to cup his face in his hands, "I was once just like you. I also had a tendancy to lose my temper when I was young, and then flee from my family. But as I remembered that the ones responsible for my anger were also the ones who loved me, I found the strength and love to return to them. You must promise me, never to run away from us again. We all love you very much, Raphael."

Raph sniffled and nodded. "I-I promise. I love you daddy."

Splinter smiled, bringing his son back to his chest. "I love you too, my son."

* * *

Arnold ran through the crowded streets as fast as his little legs would carry him, away from the sewers and into a dark alleyway, paniting heavily as he pressed himself against the wall. After he made deathly sure that he was alone, he slid himself down so that he sat on the ground, and tucked his kness close to his chest.

He had never been so terrified in his entire life. Giant demons rats in the sewers?! He vowed never to go down there again!

But what if that demon rat had gotten Raph? What if he never saw his friend ever again?

How could he just leave him there to die...?

"Casey?!"

'Arnold' jumped at the sound of a voice and turned. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a familiar figure, surrounded by three police officers.

"DAD!" he cried, leaping to his feet as he ran into his fathers' arms and sobbed.

"Oh my god, Casey! Don't you ever run away like that again! Do you hear me?! You had me worried sick!" his father cried, nearly crushing his son with his embrace.

Arnold nodded, still sobbing as he clutched his fathers' shirt. "I-I'm sorry d-dad! I'll never do it again! I swears it! I love you daddy!"

"...I love you too, Casey."

Arnold quirked a brow, sniffling as he drew away and looked up at his dad. "Wait...how come you's aint callin' me Arnold anymore?"

His father smiled, wiping the tears off his son's freackled and slightly bloody face and holding it between his hands, looking deep into the young boy's eyes. "Casey is your name, isn't it?"

"Only when you's isn't angry wit' me," he sniffed, "you's jus' call me Arnold all the time 'cause you's is always mad at me."

He nodded, pressing his forehead against his son's. "Oh, Casey...I've been angry at you for far too long, Casey. I never meant for you to feel like I never loved you. I love you so much son, don't you ever, _ever _forget that, alright?"

Casey's eyes widened, more tears pouring down his face as he nodded. Maybe Raph was right. His family really did love him.

"O-Okay, dad," he sniffled.

His dad nodded, lifting his son into his arms as he made his way to the police car, where a female officer held his baby daughter in his arms as she waited for the both of them. "Come on, Casey. Let's get that swollen mouth checked up, hm?" he asked.

Resting his head on his shoulder, Casey nodded.

* * *

"...Hey, Casey."

"...hm?"

"...do you ever get the feeling...I dunno...that we've met somewhere before or something?"

Lifting his hockey mask from off his face, Casey Jones looked out at the sleepless nightime city, a thoughtful look on his face as he sat next to his mutant turtle friend on the rooftop. "Huh...you mean, like, in one of those 'past life' things you and Splinter talked about?" he mused, bringing up his leg to rest his elbow on as he let his other leg dangle over the edge of the roof.

Raphael shrugged, "I guess. I just had this weird dream last night where I met a kid who kinda looked like you...but his name was Arnold!" he laughed.

Casey froze.

His eyes widened as he slid his gaze to the red turtle, but he remaind unaware. Subconciously, he put his left hand over his chin, rubbing it slightly. "...yeah. I had that dream too...at least...I _thought _it was a dream..." he whispered to himself.

That so called 'dream' was years ago, back when he was just a kid, after the accident that cost him three teeth. He had thought it was just a crazy dream, due to all the blood he had lost, and was just acting loopy.

But it was real. They _had _met before.

That meeting in the sewer, the chase from the demon rat (which later developed into a deeper fear of rats overall)...and that talk they had that eventually, and unknowingly, brought his family back together.

That was all _real._

A strange looking kid in the sewers had come to him when he needed him the most. His father was still grieving over the loss of his mother, and a few drinks was all it took for him to forget Casey's name and release outbursts of his anger out on him. It was his dissapearence that finally brought him back to his senses, and it was thanks to Raph that he was able to accept his fathers' love again.

And after all those years, it seemed as though Casey was finally able to return the favor.

Raph nodded absently, not noticing the look of sudden rememberance on his friend's face, "But y'know, it'd be cool if somewhere in the past, two guys like you and me were friends, and their friendship, I dunno, carried on into our lifetime. Cool, huh?"

Looking at his friend with wide eyes. He then grinned, using his thumb to brush off the single tear that threatened to fall and scooting closer, wrapping his left arm around his strange, _strange _best friend as they both looked out over the vast city.

"Yeah. That would be pretty awesome," he said with a gapped toothed grin.

* * *

**A/N: This was without a doubt the longest drabble i've ever done so far! I promise, this will be the last Raph centred one for a while! Next I'll try and do Leo. Oh, BTW, these are NOT connected to any of my other fanfictions, just the actual show. I OWN NOTHING! I hoped you enjoyed it and more are on the way!  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Sworn Protectors

**Chapter 7: Sworn Protectors**

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I wanted to focus on someone other than just Raph this time!**

**I OWN NOTHING! Enjoy!**

**Special thanks to ****_iliketordles_**

* * *

"Stoppit, Leo! I don't need ya to hold my hand all the time!"

"I'm just doing it to keep you safe! Sensei says to always stick together."

"Just leggo! I'll stay next to ya if you're that much of a scaredy-cat!"

Raphael tugged his hand out of Leonardo's as he stomped on ahead of them, his nose in the air and his stride purpoesful, or as purposeful as a five and a half year old mutant turtle could be as the four of them trekked through the tunnels.

Leo sighed, shaking his head as he gently pulled little Mikey closer to his side.

It was only eariler this morning that their father and teacher, Master Splinter, had allowed the four young mutant turtles (after much begging and puppy eyes that is) to let them explore the sewers all by themselves, without him guiding them this time. It was a risky thing to do, especially since they were only five or so years old, but Splinter trusted that they would stay together, and not wander too far into the sewers.

Or to be accurate, he trusted Leonardo.

Even at this young age, Leo proved to be far more mature and responsible than his younger brothers, though Donnie was a very close second, even though he was the second youngest.

Splinter had faith that Leo would maintain and watch over his brothers as they went exploring.

Just as long as he didn't overdo it.

* * *

As soon as the four young turtle brothers went through the turnstiles of the lair, Leo had ordered them all to hold hands to stay together, to which Mikey and Donnie quickly complied, but Raph shoved off with a growl. He didn't want to be treated like a baby by Leo! He was big enough to walk without holding anyone's hand!

The four of them had never gone very far in the sewers before, at least not without Splinter, so it was all a very new and quite exciting experience. However, a certain red clad turtle wasn't having as much fun as Donnie and Mikey were.

Only because Leo was in charge.

"Okay everyone, this floor is very slippery because we're close to the sewer water, so we gotta be careful, okay?" Leo cautioned in a big brother fashion, eyeing the strong current of sewage water that flowed next to them with wary eyes. That water looked very deep and cold; the last thing any of them wanted to do was fall in...and not come out again.

None of them could swim just yet...

Mikey and Donnie nodded eagerly in understanding. "Okay Leo!" they chimed in unison. Mikey then made a show of actually staring at the floor as he took careful steps.

Donnie began to giggle. "Mikey, why're you bein' so silly?!" he laughed, putting a hand over his mouth to stifle the giggles, but to no avail.

Mikey looked up at Leo and Donnie and beamed, his freckled cheeks blushing. "'Cus Leo says so!" Mikey smiled, running over to Leo and hugging him around the waist.

Leo's breath left him in a rush as Mikey squeezed him, but he immediatley returned the hug, nuzzling Mikey's cheek against his own. "Thanks Mikey," he said, and he felt Mikey bob his head up and down in his chest.

He also heard Raph sigh longsufferingly, but he chose to ignore it.

Donnie watched them for a moment, but then something caught his eye farther down the tunnel. He turned around to find a large, furry creature chewing on something that he realized was a human shoe. He gasped in wonder as he slowly drew closer to the creature, kneeling infront of it as it stared up at him with large beady eyes.

He smiled, revealing the gap between his teeth. "Hey guys! Look at this!" he called over his shoulder, carefully scooping up the creature in his three fingered hands. His brothers quickly came over as he opened his hands, revealing the critter.

They let out a chorus of gasps. "It's Daddy! He turned tiny!" Mikey cried, pointing at the little rat held in Donnie's hands.

Donnie laughed and shook his head, "No, no, no Mikey! This is what rats are supposed to look like. See?" He handed the rat over to Mikey, setting in his hands as Mikey's baby blue eyes widened in wonder.

"Oooohh," he cooed, and without warning, he began to rub the little rat all over his freackled face, "he's so fuzzy, just like daddy!" he giggled, even as the rat squeaked in protest.

Raph rolled his eyes and Leo shook his head. "Mikey? Do you even know that thing's been?" Raph deadpanned.

Mikey turned, looking blankly up at Raph. "We live in the sewers too, what's it matter?"

Leo and Raph froze.

Good point.

Leo decided to amuse himself with whatever he could find on the floor or on the walls as his little brother continued to play with the mini rodent, be it an empty can, or a pebble or -

He heard a scream and a splash.

His heart nearly stopped beating.

Leo, Mikey and Raph spun around to find that Donnie had fallen into the stream, and was being carried off by the strong current.

"LEO! RAPHIE! MIKEY! HELP ME!" he screamed.

Mikey's eyes widened as he stood frozen with fear, the rat slipping out of his grasp, forgotten, as it scrambled away from the mutant child.

Then without missing a beat, the three of them were instantly moving, sprinting after their brother down the sewer path as they cried out to him, shouting at him to grab onto something, but there was nothing...

"DONNIE! WE'RE COMING! HOLD ON!" Raph screeched, "YOU'LL BE OKAY!"

Donnie tried to keep his head above the water, tried not to swallow any of the filthy water, but eventually, his head went under, his hands flailing as he struggled to resurface, but now he didn't know which was up and which way was down. Everything was a muffled mess of the sounds of water, shouting, screaming, and the fowl taste of dirty water, before everything began to go dark.

The last thing Donnie saw before he blacked out was something plunging into the waters, and a bright tint of orange.

* * *

_"...onnie..."_

_"...Mikey!"_

_"...Donnie..."_

_"DONNIE, MIKEY_ WAKE UP!"

Donatello spat out water as he gasped for breath, holding his throat as he spluttered. He felt someone rub and pat his shell as they helped him into a sitting position. Worried hands then pulled him into a hard chest, and wrapped around his quivering shoulders in a warm yet tight embrace.

"Y-you're okay Donnie, y-you're gonna be okay!" Raph trembled, tears pouring down his face as he held Donnie in his arms.

As the coughing finally subsided, Donnie blinked up at Raph in confusion, shivering from the cold. "...Raphie...what happened?" he quivered.

Before Raph could answer, muffled sobbing could be heard beside them, and they turned to find Leo holding Mikey's trembling and wet body close to him as the two of them sobbed into each other, with Leo saying over and over again for Mikey never to scare him like that ever again.

Donnie's eyes filled with tears also as the reality of what had almost happened suddenly hit him. He was chasing after a little bug near the edge of the water, and he had slipped in.

Mikey had dived in to save him, and he had almost drowned too.

Donnie gently released himself from Raph's arms as he crawled on his hands and knees over to Mikey and Leo. Mikey looked up from Leo's chest, and stared at Donnie with terrified, tear filled baby blue eyes. Mikey was still so scared, and he had almost died, all because he had to dive in and save him...and none of them could even swim.

Donnie held out his trembling arms to Mikey, his lower lip quivering as the tears dripped down his face. "...M-Mikey...I-I'm s-so sorry," he stuttered, "T-thank you s-so much...I -"

Before Donnie could evenfinish, Mikey had launched himself into Donnie's arms, hugging him tight enough to make him burst as he began to sob once again. "N-no! I d-didn't want y-y-you to die, Donnie! I-I love you Donnie! I love you, I love you, I love you!"

Donnie finally released the tears as held Mikey back with all the force he could muster. "I love you too, Mikey!" he sobbed. Soon, Leo and Raph joined them, hugging them close as they all began to sob into each other.

* * *

Splinter came out of the kitchen later that afternoon to the sound of his sons finally returning from their trip through the tunnels. He let out a heavy sigh of relief as he went out to greet them at last, praying that they were unharmed.

His fears were finally put to rest when they walked through the turnstiles of the lai, all of them holding hands, just as they were when they left...and Splinter noticed that they were also quite damp.

He creased a confused furry brow as he approached them and knelt down to their level. "My sons, are you alright?" he asked.

The four little boys all shared a look. Then they looked back up to their father and grinned.

"We had a blast, Sensei!" Donatello cried.

"Yeah, we saw awesome stuff down there!" Raphael cheered, bringing his hand in the air even though he still had not let go of Donnie's hand.

"Yeah, we saw a minni daddy too!" Michelangelo giggled.

"And we stayed together, Sensei!" Leonardo proclaimed, his grip tightening on Michelangelo's little hand.

Splinter couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his lips. "I see," he said, "I am pleased to know that none of you misbehaved or got hurt...but why are you so wet?"

The boys continued to grin up at him, but Splinter noticed the subtle way Leo and Raph squeezed Donnie and Mikey's hand tighter, almost protectivley. "A pipe fell down and got water all over us!" Leo giggled, "It was pretty funny, but we think we need a bath nowm Sensei!"

Splinter took one whiff of them, and he held back the urge to hold his nose in disgust. "Ai ya! Indeed you do, my sons...and then I suggest you have a nap; you all must be very tired."

"Hai Sensei!" they chimed together, and they hurried to the bathroom for their bath. And they still hadn't let go of each other's hands.

* * *

"...Donnie? Are you awake?"

Donnie let out a tired yawn as he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as he looked up. He and Mikey shared one bunk bed, whilst on the other side of the room, Leo and Raph shared another.

Mikey's big baby blue eyes stared down at Donnie with innocent worry as Donnie sat up fully. "What is it, Mikey?" he asked.

Mikey climbed down the ladder attatched to their bed and sat down on Donnie's lap. His blue eyes looked down for a moment, and then filled with tears as he looked back up at his older brother. "I'm...i'm still scared, Donnie," he whimpered, "I thought you were gonna die today, b-but I jumped in, a-and then I almost died, a-and then Leo and Raph got scared..."

Donnie silenced him as he thew his arms around him and held him close. "I know, Mikey...I'm scared too. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have done that...but...you saved me, Mikey. Thank you.." he whispered.

Mikey nuzzled his face into the crook of Donnie's neck. "It's 'cus I love you...we all love you Don..."

"That's right, Donnie."

Mikey and Don turned to find Leo and Raph both staring at them, their eyes filled with a determination never seen before in ones so young. "We're gonna keep you both safe," Raph said, climbing out of the bottom bunk of his bed as he padded over to Mikey and Donnie, climbing into their beds. "We promise."

Leo followed shortly after Raph, Climbing onto the bed and wrapping his arms around all three of them, or as much as he could with his little arms, and they all clung onto each other, none of them ever daring to let go.

By the next morning, Splinter was suprised to find all four of his boys snoozing on one another with faces of pure content, and he couldn't help but smile.

Maybe training could wait a little while longer...


	8. Chapter 8: Leo Says It's Not Real

**A/N: Hi there! Sorry for the long wait on Turtle Tots! I had loads of other stories to do! UGH! Anyways, this one's going to be about Leo and Mikey! I watched Mazes and Mutants (which was a great episode) and i saw the part where Mikey goes "Leo says its not real!" so I wanted to experiment with that! **

**The turtle start out as 5, then eventually 10.  
**

**Enjoy! **

**I OWN NOTHING!**

* * *

_5 years old..._

They were there. They were always there, staring at him, haunting him, waiting to devour him with their huge, mighty jaws, or tear him to pieces with their long, dagger edged claws. They hid under his bed, in the darkest corners of his room, or even among his stuffed toys, just waiting for him to step out of his bed and pounce on him.

One little step, that's all it took before they came out and consumed him whole.

Whimpering underneath his blankets as he clutched them in a death-grip between his fingers, little Michelangelo shivered in his bed in the darkness of his room, staring with wide, baby blue eyes at the corner of his bedroom wall, where he was certain the monster was hiding. He would have had his night-light on, but the batteries had died and Master Splinter had to go find new ones, and Raphael always teased him about how night-lights were for babies. Mikey was going to prove to Raph that he wasn't a baby, and go to sleep without his night-light!

Well, at least he _was_, until he saw it.

The big, scary creature that sat in the corner, staring at him with large, red beady eyes in the darkness. It didn't move at all, it simply stared, but he could swear he heard it growling at him.

It was waiting for him to come out.

Now Mikey was terrified. He let out a little cry of fear as he buried himself underneath his blankets, not wanting to look at it anymore. He needed Sensei to come and take the creature away. He needed Leo, Raph or Donnie, _anyone!_

"Make it go away..." he whimpered under his blankets, thick tears rolling down his freckled cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut, "...m-make it go away...make it go away..."

Suddenly, something clanked and screeched against the floor, and light flooded his room. His eyes widened. Maybe the creature was tired of waiting. Maybe it wanted to eat him now!

He heard footsteps coming his way, creeping closer to his bed.

He let out another cry as he buried himself further in his blankets.

A hand rested on his shell. He stifled a shriek.

He was a goner.

"...Mikey? Are you okay?"

Mikey's tear-filled eyes snapped open. That monster sounded an awful lot like...

Mikey slowly poked his head from his blankets to find his big brother Leonardo looking down at him with big, worried blue eyes. His hand was stroking the back of his shell in soothing motions as Mikey slowly emerged fully from underneath the covers. Leo's breath hitched as he saw the dark tear streaks down his face and dampening his mask.

Mikey had been crying? His baby brother was scared? No way he was going to let that happen!

Frowning slightly, Leo climbed up onto Mikey's bed and shuffled over until he was sitting right beside him, and he wrapped his arms around his quivering shoulders, resting his cheek on the top of his head. "What's the matter, Mikey?" he asked gently, just as Sensei would do when they were afraid, "Was it a bad dream?"

Mikey sniffled as he wiped his face with the back of his hand, feeling less afraid now that his big, brave older brother was next to him. He pointed a quivering finger to the corner of the room, where the monster still sat staring hungrily at the both of them. "T-there...there's a m-monster there, Leo!" he cried, "it was g-gonna get me!"

Leo followed Mikey's finger, and he narrowed his eyes to get a clearer look at the so-called creature, but the darkness hindered him from a proper view...but he could just catch it's outline. He smiled down at Mikey as he took him by the hand, and began to shuffle off the bed, taking a panicking Mikey with him as he protested. "No! No, Leo if we go on the floor he'll get us!" he cried, more tears threatening to spill over.

Leo shook his head. "No Mikey, he won't get us, c'mon, get on the floor," he urged gently. He finally managed to get Mikey on the floor, but he began to cry even as he held Leo's hand as they walked closer and closer to the creature. Leo then crossed over to the light switch, and he flipped it on, nearly blinding them with the sudden gleam. Mikey blinked several times until his eyes adjusted, and he turned to where the monster was...

...only to find that there was no monster at all. His expression fell and he blinked once as he realized that it was his to robot.

Leo smiled down at him with a toothy grin. "See Mikey? There's no monster here," he said, letting go of Mikey's hand as he walked over, bent down and picked up the toy robot, showing it to his little brother, "It's just you Robo-Mecha toy! You left the lights on with the eyes, silly!" He then turned the eyes off the robot with the switch at the back of the head.

He looked back up at Mikey, smiling softly as he put the toy back in the toy box and put both hands on Mikey's shoulders. "Mikey, there are no such things as monsters. They're all in your head. They're not real, and nothing's gonna come and get you, okay?"

Mikey sniffled slightly and nodded. If Leo said that they weren't real monsters, then it _had _to be true; Leo was always right.

"Just close your eyes and keep telling yourself; It's not real, It's not real. Got it?" Leo said.

Mikey nodded again, growing more and more confident as he squeezed his eyes shut and chanted, "Leo says it's not real, Leo says it's not real..."

Leo giggled. Mikey always had the impression that whatever he or his other two brothers said was always right. For himself and Donnie, that was mostly the case, but for Raph...not so much. But at least he knew that he would have less trouble with monsters in the dark than before.

"So, you gonna be okay on your own now, Mikey?" he asked.

Mikey snapped his eyes open and shook his head, grabbing onto Leo's arm with both hands as he looked up at his big brother pleadingly. "No. Don't go yet. I'm still...kinda scared. Stay just a little longer, please?" he practically begged.

Leo rolled his eyes but grinned as he nodded, moving over to the light switch. "Okay, Mikey. I'll stay," he said, switching the lights off as he led Mikey back to bed, climbing on and settling himself beside him, wrapping his arms around his baby brother as he rested with his chin on his head.

Mikey snuggled close to Leo's chest, smiling as he closed his eyes. "G'night, Leo!"

Leo chuckled. "Good night, Mikey. Rember, it's not real."

"Got it!"

With that, Leo fell asleep. But Mikey stayed awake a moment longer, quietly chanting "Leo says it's not real, Leo says it's not real..." before his eyes finally drooped closed, and he fell sound asleep in his big brothers arms, safe and free from nightmares and all the bad things out there...

* * *

_10 years old..._

"Oh yeah, boy! Michelangelo's on the _mooooove!"_

"Look out for the snake, Mikey! WATCH OUT FOR THE SNAKE!"

"Donnie go left, GO _LEFT_!"

"I _am_, Leo! This game set-up is usless!"

"OH NO IT _**GOT** _ME!"

"Mikey's a goner!"

"USE THE ESCAPE TECHNIQUE!"

"I CAN'T! I'M TRYING!"

"TRY **HARDER**!"

Mikey bashed against the buttons on his controller as he desperatley tried to free himself from the snake beast on their game. Donnie was player 2, and he too was trying to free his comrade. Leo and Raph were watching with wide eyes and bouncing on their toes in anticipation.

"I've got it," Mikey chanted, "I'VE GOT IT, I'VE GOT -"

Suddenly, the screen turned black.

"Aw _man!" _Mikey and Donnie whined in unison. Leo and Raph began to snicker.

But all their whining and snickering came to a halt as suddenly, all the lights in the lair switched off, plunging the turtles in utter darkness.

And in that darkness, Mikey let out a shriek of terror.

It was so loud that it made his older brothers cringe, but it wasn't enough to stop Leo from instantly jumping to Mikey's side and wrapping his arms around his shaken brother. "Shh, shh, Mikey it's okay," he soothed as Mikey began to hyperventilate, his eyes wide and filled with tears, and his body quaking with fear. Mikey had had this fear of the dark ever since they were little; it was something that even Leo couldn't cure, but he knew how to help.

"Mikey, listen, it's gonna be okay," he said firmly, tightening his hold around Mikey as he pressed his head to his chest and began to gently rock him back and forth, "we're all here Mikey, the dark can't hurt you as long as we're here."

Raph quickly joined in the embrace, holding both Leo and Mikey in his arms. "That's right, Mikey! Nothing's gonna hurt you as long as _I'm _here too, remember? I told you I'd keep you safe, right?"

"Raph and Leo are right," Donnie soothed as he too latched onto his older brothers, "nothing' gonna happen. We promise. Just breathe, Mikey. Breathe..."

In the middle of the embrace, Mikey began to calm down. His breathing returned to normal, and he squeezed his eyes shut. "...t-turn them on...t-t-turn the lights b-back on..." he quivered.

Leo shared a look with his other two brothers. How could they turn them back on? The only way to do that was if Master Splinter took Donnie down to where those special wires were further down in the tunnels...but Master Splinter was on a scavenging trip, and he had ordered them not to leave the lair unless they went together.

Leo bit his lip. Mikey wasn't about to let go of any of them any time soon, but if they all went, and Splinter came home to find them all gone, he would ground them forever when they came back. Leo let out a breath and looked to Donnie. "Donnie, get the stuff you need to fix the wires and I'll go with you. Raph, you stay here with Mikey so that if Sensei comes back before we do, you can tell him what's happend. Okay?"

They all nodded, though Mikey was still very shaken up.

Leo stood up as Donnie ran into his lab and quickly grabbed everything that he thought me might need and stuffed them all into a messenger bag that Splinter had found over a week ago, and he came out to meet Leo at the turnstiles of the lair. He looked back at where Raph sat holding Mikey's hand, and Raph gave them a thumbs up, which Leo returned with a reassuring smile before he and Donnie set off at a run down the tunnels.

After Leo and Donnie disappeared from sight, Mikey looked up at Raph. "You think they'll b-be okay?" he stuttered.

Raph held Mikey's hand tighter. "Relax, Mikey. We're ten years old for cryin' out loud, and we're _ninja__s_! They'll be fine!"

"But you always said that there were dangerous creepy crawly monsters in the sewers!"

Raph's expression fell as he shifted his eyes to the side. "Um...yeah...I was just saying that so you would leave me alone..." he admitted.

Mikey's face twisted into a scowl as he glared up at Raph. "WHAT?! I _KNEW _IT!" he barked, hitting Raph on the arm, "YOU LIE!"

Raph only laughed. "C'mon! You can be really annoying, y'know; I have to say _something _to get you off my shell!"

Mikey pouted as he released Raph's hand and crossed his arms over his chest. "I hope your head gets turned into a turkey one day, Raphie!" he muttered, sticking his tongue out at him.

Raph waved him off, but was secretly glad that he wasn't afraid anymore. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he smirked.

* * *

Half a hour later, Mikey and Raph were still waiting for Leo and Donnie to return. It shouldn't have taken them so long, after all, Donnie works really quickly when it comes to machines. What could be taking them so long?

Mikey's nerves began to rise again as he sat on the bench, staying as close to Raph as he could as he looked down at his three toed feet. What was taking them? Maybe they ran into some trouble?

What if what Raph said about the sewer monsters was real? What if they had taken Leo and Donnie away...?

Mikey shook his head firmly, shaking the thought out with it. He couldn't think like that, not now. He was sure Leo and Donnie were fine; probably just being held up by something in the sewers...not monsters...

Mikey closed his eyes, going back all those years ago, and remembering what Leo had told him what to do when he was scared. He subconsciously began to chant it in a whisper. "...Leo says it's not real...Leo says it's not real...Leo says it's not -"

A sudden pair of high pitched screams of terror rang through their ears from further down in the tunnels. Mikey and Raph snapped their heads up at the blood chilling sound, their hearts skipping a beat. That sounded an awful lot like Leo and Don...

They appeared seconds later, screaming with all they were worth as they leapt over the turnstiles and plunged into the pit with Mikey and Raph, grabbing hold of them as they shook and whimpered in fear, their wide eyes never leaving the entrance. Donnie was the first to speak as he latched onto Raph, "T-there was a m-monster out there!" he cried.

Mikey's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he and Raph shared a mortified glance.

Leo gulped. "It w-was h-huge and hairy! It tried to bite Donnie but I hit it and then we ran away! I think it might be following us!" He looked left and right desperatley in search for a place to hide. "Quick! Let's go to our rooms and hide, hurry!" he cried, taking Mikey by the hand as he, Raph and Donnie ran into Mikey's room, shutting the door behind them as they scurried over to Mikey's bed, huddling together in the farthest corner of the bed as they held each other, quaking in fear.

Their eyes never left the door, and they were deathly silent as they listened.

They heard the pitter-patter of clawed feet on the ground outside their door, and their eyes widened further when they heard low growling sounds as well, and then the creature scratching at the door as it tried to get inside.

Tears trickled down their faces as they held each other. This was it. They were going to be eaten by a monster! Mikey was right all along; there really _were _such things as -

Wait, what was Mikey doing?!

Mikey had untangled himself from his brothers as he leapt off the bed, grabbing his nunchaku from off his bedside table and marching over to the door, all the while chanting quietly, "Leo says it's not real, Leo says it's not real..."

"Mikey, Come BACK!" Leo cried, "Don't go out there!"

Mikey ignored their cries and instead kicked his door three times. Just as he hoped, the creature scampered away from it, and after gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, Mikey swung open the door. "**_BOOYAKASHAAAA!"_**he hollered, and he leapt out of the room and slammed the door closed before the dark furred thing could get inside.

"**_MIKEY!"_** they cried.

* * *

Splinter ran as fast as he could back to the lair, his heart racing. He had heard his sons screams of terror from where he stood nearly a mile away, and he knew instantly that something was very, _very _wrong, and that his little boys were in danger.

Then he heard another scream, but it was not of fear or pain.

**_"BOOYAKASHAAAA!"_**

That was Michelangelo. He only ever used that strange word whenever they were training and about to leap into a spar.

That meant that Michelangelo was actually facing whatever had invaded their home!

He quickened his pace, pushing himself to go faster, so much so that he resulted in running on all fours, something that he hardly ever did unless he had to, but right now, he didn't care.

All he cared about was reaching his sons before he lost them all as well...

* * *

Leo had never felt so helpless in his entire short life as he covered his ears with his hands to block out the sounds of vicious barking and yelling, as were Raph and Donnie as they huddled close together on their youngest brothers' bed, tears dripping down their faces. How could they have just let Mikey face that monster alone? They were supposed to protect _him,_ not the other way around. He was the one who was afraid of monsters, and they were the big brothers that chased it away. Now Mikey could be dead, and it was all their fault...

Suddenly, all was silent.

Hesitantly, they lifted their hands from their ears and listened. They couldn't hear any more barking or yelling.

Their hearts dropped in their chest as their eyes widened.

No.

It couldn't be.

_**"MIKEY!"** _they screamed as they toppled off the bed and ran to the door, pulling it wide open and running out of the room and into the main area, praying that they didn't find their brothers' body lying on the ground...

However, what they _did _find made their jaws drop and their eyes go wide again.

* * *

When Splinter finally reached the lair, hoping beyond all hope that his sons were safe, he stopped in his tracks when he found his youngest son, Michelangelo, standing in the darkened lair with his back to him in the middle of the pit, his nunchaku dangling in his hands as he panted, his breaths slow but no less drained. He looked to the other side of the room to find his other three sons in a similar position he was in, staring at their little brother in shock.

From where he stood, he couldn't see properly, but he didn't need his eyes to tell him that Michelangelo was standing over the unmoving body of a large, mangy, dark furred dog.

Leonardo was the first to notice his father standing at the entrance, and he gasped. "Sensei!" he cried. Donnie and Raph snapped their heads up to him also, and then back to Mikey, who had yet to move from where he stood. Then as quick as lightening, he dropped his weapons and ran straight from the pit and nearly rammed himself into his father, wrapping his arms around him like a lifeline and burying his face into his chest. Splinter hesitated only a moment before returning the embrace as Leo, Donnie and Raph quickly crowded around them. "Boys, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Three of them nodded, but Mikey refused to reply. Splinter looked back to the dog in the middle of the pit.

Had he actually _killed _it?

His question was answered as the dog suddenly twitched, lifting its head up and looking around. Leo, Raph and Donnie tensed up, clinging onto their father as they watched the dog shakily stand up on its own four paws, shaking its head.

Mikey released Splinter and turned to look at the canine. Splinter watched as suddenly, Michelangelo patted his knees and grinned at the dog. "C'mere boy! C'mere!" he called.

Obediently, the dog padded over to him, licking his hands, which were slightly scarred from its attack, and then scampering off into the tunnels, barking happily as it ran. The mutant family watched in utter confusion, and then turned back to Mikey.

"...What was that?" Raph barked.

Mikey smiled. "That dog wasn't a monster! It just needed some sense knocked into it, that's all!" he said cheerfully, rocking back and forth on his heels, "and besides, Leo says its not real! Right Leo?!"

Leo stared at Mikey awe, and then let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he came forward and hugged Mikey tight. "That's right, Mikey. You're right," he said.

Mikey giggled as he hugged his big brother back.

Splinter smiled warmly, drawing Raph and Donnie close. It seemed that his youngest sons was stronger in mind and spirit than the old ninja master had thought he ever was, and at such a young age as well...

Suddenly, the lights of the lair finally flickered on, brightening the room and restoring the power once more, and the boys brightened. "All right!" Mikey crowed as he and his brothers shared in a turtle group hug, all of them praising Mikey for what he had done for them. Splinter watched them all for a moment longer, before deciding that maybe he should go and make some tea for them.

After they day they had, they were going to need it. And they would not have to fear of monsters coming into thei home any longer.


End file.
